“Thanks.” My long hair fell forward, and I turned my head away, pausing for another coughing fit before I fell back against the cushions.
Every move took effort, each breath forced through the pressure on my chest.Would I ever get to see another sunrise? My sister? My friends in the building?
Would the last time I spoke to them end up being the last time?
Overcome by the reality of what was happening to me, I let out a hoarse sob. “I don’t want to die.”
Theo extended his hand as if he wanted to touch my face, then thought better of it and pulled back. His gaze drilled into me as if he could cure me with a look alone. “I’ll be here with you,” he said, “no matter what happens. I’m not leaving you. Understand?”
I swiped away a stray tear with the back of my hand and nodded.
“Back in a minute.” Theo’s footsteps took him from one side of the apartment to the other, cupboard doors opening and shutting as he gathered supplies.
He returned with bottled water and a damp face washer, pain meds, and a bright red bucket for the nausea that was still to come.
“Take a couple of these,” he said, popping ibuprofen from the blister pack. He dropped them into my hand without touching me.
“What happened with Dustin?” I swallowed the pills and chugged water from the bottle he handed me.
“I don’t want you to worry about him right now. All you need to do is focus on is getting better.” Theo took the bottle from me, then urged me against the pillow and draped a damp facecloth over my forehead.
“You can’t tell me while I’m lying here? It’s not like I have anything better to do.”
“I’ll fill you in on every detail when you recover.” He thoroughly sanitised his hands again.
I’d be sick of the smell soon… if I survived. “I might not get better,” I said, “and we could both be lying here by the end of the day.”
The thought of him suffering the same fate as me intensified the weight on my chest.
“Not gonna happen.” Theo stared at me for a moment, appearing torn. I wished I had a preview of the thoughts going through his mind.
“What?” I asked. “What is it?”
He pulled in a long breath through his nose, then released it, waiting a few more seconds before he could say it out loud. “I need to call my family.”
My heart tripped, and I made a funny sound in my throat.
He’d sacrificed his last chance to be with them.
For me.
I nodded and blinked away another rush of tears as he left the room.
Fifteen
theo
“Oh, Theo.No,” Mia wailed down the line.“Why would you put yourself in that position?”
I stood in front of my bedroom window and pinched the bridge of my nose, forcing myself to stay calm. “I’m the only one who won’t infect someone else if I get sick.”
“But… can’t you just put food and meds outside her door?” she asked. “You can keep your distance and still check on her.”
“Is that what you’d do?” We both knew she wouldn’t. Neither of us had been brought up to ditch people when they needed us. “It’s too late, anyway. She’s in my apartment.”
“I can’t believe it. All this time, we’ve avoided getting sick, and you just…threwyourself into it like you’re wearing freaking armour. I don’t understand you sometimes.” She choked on her words and paused, regaining control. “What am I going to tell Ruby?”
“That I’ll see her soon. I’m wearing a mask. Sanitising regularly. I’ll stay away from her whenever I can—and as soon as the rain lets up, I’ll open the windows and get some airflowthrough the place.” As if to remind me of her presence, Sadie launched into another coughing jag from the lounge room. “And some people are immune, remember. One of Ruby’s teachers. Dad’s neighbour. We all know someone.”
